Iran Plans to Lease New Train Cars from Europe

Iran’s state-run railway company is in talks with a number of European companies to lease brand-new train cars, an official said.

The Islamic Republic of Iran Railways, known as RAJA at home, is proceeding with business negotiations with a number of European companies on leasing train cars, which are mostly new and are expected to be delivered by August, Mohammad Rajabi, a top official of RAJA said at a press conference on Wednesday.

Putting the number of the cars at 50, he said one of the companies Iran is negotiating with is a German-Chinese firm, noting that the cars have been manufactured in Germany.

Iran has decided to lease train cars because receiving cars that are ordered for purchase is a lengthy process, Rajabi added.

Last month, Iran and Transmashholding, Russia’s largest company on the railway machine-building market, finalized a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to boost cooperation in production of railroad cars.

Iran has ramped up efforts to renovate its aging railroad industry by attracting foreign investment in light of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), a nuclear agreement between Tehran and the Group 5+1 (Russia, China, the US, Britain, France and Germany) that took effect in January 2016.